Good luck to Ketchum (11/15):
Gee, two weeks later they finally get a reputable agency on board? Ketchum will have its hands full.
The CHAIR of the board is the guy who used to be CFO/treasurer of the university and oversaw the athletics program. Conflict of interest or anything?
And last week, BEFORE they even asked president and Paterno to step down -- in the midst of all the mess -- the CHAIR of the BOARD was out hustling to get a new COACH.
First priority of the board -- get a new coach?????? How about worry about the victimized kids?
And yesterday, after the WashPost has broken the story about the board chair going after the U Va coach, the new president says no, we aren't looking for a coach.
Seems as if the board chair -- who didn't preside over the press conference, wonder why -- has his own agenda and it's about football. And he and the president obviously aren't communicating, or one of them isn't telling the truth. Of course they shaded the truth -- they said the university did not contact the U Va coach.
The board chair's son is on the staff at U Va, so if they used him as a conduit, they have plausible deniability. And how many times in how many stories have we read "Penn State officials refused to comment" or "didn't return calls."
Given what a mess this is, we can only hope that the PSU PR staff was kept in the dark and/or weren't listened to once the story broke.
If they have been advising all of these mis-steps, they've set our profession back decades.
Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd (11/15):
When you lie down with dogs........ It will be interesting to see how this matter is deflected....Let's see now: an excon named Abramoff will have counsel to sell books; Chase Bank and its fraternity in the industry that gorged on the mortgage business by grabbing loans it could palm off to Fannie and then raised a pot of dough to blame consumers for the housing mess....well now we have a big time outfit to deodorize Penn State...but then the taxpayers did go without a whimper for a $2 billion dollar bill to sell the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So why not?
Ketchum alum (11/15):
It's not a coincidence that Ketchum was hired as the board made its first major appearance on Nov. 9 to fire the coach and president, and has appeared in control ever since.
Disgusted (11/16):
I don't know, Ketchum alum -- it appears that no one is in control even yet.
As NY Times reported, board has been trying to recruit a new coach. Yet the "interim" president says they haven't. Don't these folks even talk to each other?
Now they've named a new AD -- yet ANOTHER BOARD member who has "deep ties" to Penn.
Do they not get that a) the board has clearly been part of the problem, creating that culture of isolation and invulnerability, and b) they need SOMEONE, anyone, from outside, to bring in a new perspective?
ALL of their "investigative" committees are being headed by -- BOARD members. If this is what Ketchum is telling them to do, I'd be amazed.
The people at Ketchum are pro's, top-notch, and if they've been there since last week and are saying keep it all insiders, don't bring in anyone from outside . . . . . nope, that just isn't what Ketchum would do.
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